The newcomer walked down the steps slowly, with refined grace. She was tall, petite, and very pale looking. Her ears were pointed in a much more conspicuous manner than Roen's own ears. Her hair was long, shiny, and jet-black. Her azure eyes were like sapphire gems and sparkled. There was an aura surrounding her that bespoke of power.

Roen quickly met her at the bottom of the stairs. After receiving a small peck on his right cheek from the woman, the signmaker introduced her. "This is Valatea, my wife," he said.

I slowly approached the couple and held out my hand. As we shook hands, I joked, "I didn't realize I'm that popular."

Kalistra remained at her spot near the bench. She simply waved her paw at the elven woman.

I tried to discretely trigger my spirit sense. When I looked at Valatea, I was bombarded with a strong golden aura emanating from her. It was so powerful that the aura had encompassed the entire floor of the shop. I couldn't tolerate the sight for long, and I quickly released my spirit sense. "Spirit sense SUCCESSFUL. +50 XP." I dismissed the pop-up.

Valatea smiled at me as if she knew what I just did.

"Are you a goddess?" I blurted out my suspicion. Perhaps she was sired by a god just like Jasla was; this would explain why her aura was so much more powerful than any mortal being I ever met in this gaming world. Her aura put Bishop Canterbury's to shame.

The mysterious woman laughed; her laughter sounded like xylophones. "No, milord, I'm not. You're probably wondering why my aura seems overpowering," she surmised.

Caught red-handed, I nodded.

"My formal title is Valatea Ti'Jurvdof, Linemistress of Gaea. This world is full of ley lines of power. I have studied them for over a century and I have access to many different ley lines running throughout this continent. The aura that you sense is a reflection of the reservoirs of raw energy under my command. And I serve Gaea, the greater goddess of Life," she explained.

Oh! I looked at her in shock and awe. When I played the PC game Merlin, Linemaster was one of the advanced arcane professions, with access to many area-of-effect spells as well as transportation spells. With her spells, she could literally rearrange a battlefield. "How can I become a Linemaster?" I asked. It was one of the professions that I was very interested in along with Enchanter and Spirit Magi.

Kalistra's ears perked up but she remained silent.

Valatea smiled. "You will need to strike a bargain with her, like the way you've done with Bane, Musa, and Luck," she replied.

I frowned at her answer. This was great! Not! In other words, to become a Linemaster I needed to become Gaea's lackey! Enab's caution that other gods were interested in branding me was proving to be accurate.

"If you want assistance from The Elven Nation to deal with the drows, then you need to reach an agreement to serve Gaea in some capacity," Roen spoke up. "But don't worry, she won't demand exclusive servitude from you. Gaea is mindful of the other gods and she is fine with sharing you with them."

I immediately whipped my head in his direction. "How did you know about the drows?" I demanded to know. The Watch had kept news of the encounter with drows a secret from the commoners.

Roen chuckled. "You humans are silly. Bishop Canterbury placed spies at The Noble Lady and followed my brethren all over town. It was only fair that we spied on the Church in return. I get all this information because I'm the spymaster for The Elven Nation," he revealed.

"The Church thought you were the ambassador," I replied.

"I serve many functions on behalf of my people: ambassador, spymaster, and gatekeeper," he nodded to his wife.

"Gatekeeper? Where's your gate?" I scoffed.

Linemistress Valatea offered a mysterious smile. "If you agree to an audience with my goddess, I'll show you," she offered.

I folded my arms and thought it over. I was meeting far too many deities of this world, each with his peculiarities and demands. I was very wary of what mission Gaea would lay at my feet; I suspected that it would be a difficult mission. However, without the aid and protection of The Elven Nation, can I hope to survive further assassination attempts from the drows? In the end, there was no choice for me if I wished to live long enough to return home. I turned my head toward Kalistra. "Can she come with me?" I asked.

"Sure," Valatea smiled and nodded to the cat girl.

My master politely nodded back. Her pap had cautioned her to be very respectful and courteous to arcane users. Furthermore, Valatea was a full-blooded elf and it would be wise to have cordial relations with this woman.

"Then it's settled. Please give me a moment to lock up the shop and then we'll head upstairs," Roen said. He walked over to the window and flipped the store sign around so that the side with "Closed" was faced outward. He pulled the brown curtains over the window and muttered something. The half-elf then locked the door and again muttered something. Then he turned around and said, "Okay."

"What were you doing?" I asked. "You were muttering something in front of the door and window."

Roen grinned at me. He pulled up his left sleeve and revealed a brand on his forearm. "Like you, I have also been marked by a goddess," he revealed. "I was casting a protection spell to secure my home."

I walked up to the signmaker and examined his mark more closely. It was in the shape of a seed. "Why a seed?" I asked.

"Gaea is the giver of life. A seed represents the beginning of life and therefore, it is an appropriate symbol for Her," the elf woman explained. "Now please follow me up the stairs," she requested. Valatea turned and headed back up the stairs.

I followed her, with Kalistra behind me and Roen taking up the rear.

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The shopkeeper cast another spell and then finally headed up the stairs.

The second floor wasn't quite what I had expected. I expected a hallway followed by a bunch of rooms. Nope. Instead, it was an open floor without a single partition or wall. However, there were furnishings include a master bed and vanity set on the far right side. A study area occupied the far left with two bookcases and the requisite desk and chair. The room was filled with flowers and plants.

A small hound paddled up to us. It had short, dark brown fur. It had a black face and somehow reminded me of a bear. It sniffed at my feet and then Kalistra's feet; once the hound had memorized our scent, it sat before us.

Valatea leaned down and petted the dog on the head. "This is Dansheng. He is an emissary of Gaea, and you two have received his approval to meet Her," she announced.

"This little thing is a lackey of Gaea? What's he's going to do if he doesn't like us? Bark at us?" Kalistra scoffed. Aside from Gurgne, she didn't like dogs in general. And this little mutt smelled a little foul to her sensitive nose.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed. The small hound on the ground was replaced with a giant bear. It growled menacingly at the cat girl and took a step forward. The floor groaned under its weight.

Refusing to back away, Kalistra hissed and put her hand on her sword hilt.

"Stop!" Valatea commanded and an invisible force pushed the two away from each other. She turned toward the guardian. "Dansheng, is this how we treat guests?"

Chastened, the shapeshifter changed back to a small hound and sat down.

The linemistress then turned her attention to the cat girl. "Is this how the heir of a renowned dojo treats nonhumans?"

Kalistra folded her arms and turned her head.

I quickly stepped in. "We apologize for any offense, Mistress Valatea," I said and bowed deeply at the waist. I felt a hand squeeze my left shoulder. When I turned my head, I saw that it was Roen, who offered me a knowing smile.

Roen turned his head toward his wife. "I cast a spell of privacy surrounding this building. People who try to peer inside our windows won't see anything amiss," he announced.

Valatea smiled at her husband. "In that case, it's time to open the gate." The elf woman walked across the floor until she stood in front of a white flower in a yellow vase on a wooden stand located at the center of the room.

I looked around and confirmed that we were indeed standing in the middle of the room. The flower was out of place in the sense that the other plants were adorning the walls, while this flower was set aside separate from everything else in the room. I saw that the flower had long petals that spiraled and came together to seal up the middle. It had a long, thick green stem with sharp spikes. I had never seen this flower before. "What kind of flower is it?" I asked.

"It's not a flower," Valatea smiled. "It's a gate to Gaea's Inner Sanctum." The servant of Gaea pressed a finger against a sharp spike and drew blood. She held her bleeding finger over the enclosed petals and allowed her blood to drip on the flower. Slowly, the petals unfurled and opened, revealing a small hole in the fabric of reality. The hole grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of a basketball. Suddenly, a burst of yellow energy came out of the hole and engulfed all five of us.

Before I knew it, we were sucked into the hole. I tried to move but found myself held tightly in place by an invisible force. All I could do was watch as we traveled through a kaleidoscope of colors, turning upside down and spinning as if we were inside some sort of tunnel. After an unknown amount of time had passed, we were finally thrown, lightly, to the ground. I looked behind me, but the hole quickly sealed up, leaving us trapped in this place. Being a sci-fi fan, I couldn't help but speculate that somehow we entered a miniature wormhole; whatever force held us in place also protected us from any harmful particles while we traveled through the wormhole.

I shook my head. Now was NOT the time to think about wormholes. My immediate concern was where were we? I got back to my feet and looked around. We were inside a very big cavern. There was grass on the ground, but it was colored yellow! The walls were lined with pink and lime colored stones that glowed and provided illumination for our surroundings. Vines and flowers lined the walls as well. A hazy, gray fog passed through; I could feel a slight air current. The fog limited my field of vision to approximately five feet. I could only hope that the inhabitants of this place were friendly because these conditions were ideal for an ambush.

Suddenly, something buzzed past my face! I turned my head from side to side but I couldn't see what it was. Then I heard giggling from multiple directions. A pink light flashed, disbursing the fog. And hovering in front of my face was a faery! It was a woman with golden skin dressed in a pink dress adorned with enough gems befitting a queen. She had long, curly brown hair held in place by a tiara on her head. Her height was the size of my outstretched hand. Large, translucent wings were attached to her back and they fluttered, like a butterfly, with a slow, steady rhythm. When I tried to use my spirit sense, the newcomer's aura was so powerful that it was pounding like a sledgehammer against my mind and I was forced to release my senses immediately. Despite the release, I was developing a headache from the experience. "Spirit sense SUCCESSFUL. +50 XP." I dismissed the useless pop-up message.

The faery noticed my distress and flew closer to my face. A wand appeared in her left hand. She tapped it lightly on my forehead, and my headache immediately faded. "You should be careful in choosing your target for your Spirit Sense, my child," she said. The voice sounded ancient despite her youthful appearance.

"Thank you, mistress," I bowed my head.

"Call me Gaea, young Lawrence," she replied.

I looked at her with great surprise. "You're Gaea?"

Other faeries came into view and giggled at me.

I looked around and saw that my companions were gone! "What happened to the people I came here with?" I asked with worry.

"Don't worry. Your friends are safe. I needed to speak with you privately, Lawrence Eugene Mulligan," Gaea replied and then shook her head. "I needed to see you for myself to determine your worthiness to become the Champion of Life," she said.

"I thought I was supposed to be the Champion of Law and Order?" I asked.

"That is part of the portfolio for the Champion of Life," Gaea replied. "You need Order to preserve Life. But few inhabitants of this world truly appreciate what's at stake in this contest—life itself. The ultimate goal of Chaos is death and destruction. Should you fail in your quest, ninety-five percent of the people of Britannia will die. I wanted to have this meeting to impress upon you the stakes involved in your quest. Failure is not an option because otherwise, everything you love in this world will perish. Are you prepared to accept this burden?" She looked at me with emerald colored eyes.

I looked back at her and answered immediately. "I don't have a choice. If I step aside and the Champion of Chaos takes the crown, then I will never forgive myself for my cowardice. I can't guarantee that I will succeed but I can offer my best effort to pursue the crown. If someone else emerges who is better suited for kingship, then I will be content with that even if this means that I will be stuck in this gaming world for the rest of my life," I explained my decision.

Gaea listened carefully to my answer and nodded. "I judge you worthy to become the Champion of Life. Now please hold out your right arm," she requested.

Knowing what the goddess planned to do, I held out my right arm and pulled up my sleeve.

The faery used her wand to draw the symbol of a seed, just like the one that Roen had on his arm.

When Gaea was finished, I received a pop-up which read, "Marked by Gaea. +500 Reputation. +1,000 XP." I bowed to the goddess from my waist. "Thank you."

"I will ask the Elven Nation to watch over you and protect you from the misguided Drowsidea and her children. If you ever decide to take up the arcane arts, please ask Valatea to teach you to utilize the ley lines. Your predecessor, Merlin, was a Linemaster and you may find access to the ley lines helpful in your quest for Kingship," she revealed.

"Thank you, Gaea," I said.

"And now it's time for you to return to the human world." The goddess started drawing a circle with her wand in front of my face.

I became very drowsy and couldn't resist closing my eyes. Before I knew it, I lost consciousness.